Can opener



y 1962 w. J. DIETER ETAL 3,045,617

CAN OPENER Filed March 10, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 WILLIAM J. DIE TE R, JOHN H. SGHROEDER AND BY .PH/LIP F FLY/WV ATTORNEYS w. J. DIETER ET AL 3,045,617

July 24, 1962 CAN OPENER Filed March 10, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 m M m m ,R E R5 mum. N w T M50 T M M mr M M .5 W MHW m m .n mP M WW1 t tt 3,tl45,617 CAN @PENER William J. Dieter, John H. Schroeder, and Philip F. Flynn, Naperville, Ill., assignors to En Page Frecision Products (10., Naperville, Ill, a corporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 720,196 11 Claims. (Cl. 113-1) such as drinks and soups from sealed containers or cans which must be-opened before the contents can be consumed. Preferably, a large number of these cans are stored in each machine and each can contains an individual serving of food. Accordingly, when operation of the machine is initiated by any suitable means such as the insertion therein of a proper coin or check, the delivered can must be opened. To this end can openers are associated with such dispenser. To fully comply with the regulations of the Food and Drug Administration, such can openers must not in any way be capable of contaminating food. In order to prevent contamination of the food, it is desirable that no parts of the can opener actually contact the food. Therefore, it is important to employ with such vending machines a can opener embodying certain aspects of the present invention and showing the opener in a position wherein a can would be locked thereto for opening the same;

opener which does not contact the contents of the can being opened. Likewise, there should be not cutting of the metal parts with the production of sharp edges and the like.

While these features described above are particularly desirable for can openers used with vending machines, they are equally desirable in can openers used in domestic and commercial kitchens. However, can openers which are used for domestic purposes should at least be such that no sharp edges are produced on either the can or its cover, and it would be desirable, although not necessary, that once the cover is removed by the can opener it could be placed on the can for temporary protection of its contents.

Therefore, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved can opener.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved can opener whichremoves the cover from a can without contacting the contents of the can.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved can opener which removes the cover from a can without severing either the cover or the can.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved can opener which removes the cover from a can and, moreover, which so shapes the cover and the can that the cover may again be placed on the can for temporary protection of the contents thereof.

Briefly, the above and further objects are realized in accordance with the present invention by providing a can opener comprising a support member for rotatably supporting a can, a first roller for engaging said can between the wall of the can' and a lock seam which secures the cover to the can, and a second roller which engages the periphery of the cover after the seam has been spread out by the first roller and curls the periphery of the cover back off the adjoining edge of the can.

The invention, both as to its organization and method FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the can opener of the present invention showing the locking mechanism in its two extreme positions;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the can opener of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view through the seam opening roller used in the device of the present invention;

FIG. 8-is a plan view of the curling roller employed in the device of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary sectional view showing a can when first placed in the opener of the present invention for removal of the cover thereof;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view similar to that in FIG. 9 but showing the seam opening roller in engagement with the can and in the process of ing upwardly with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, illustrating its relative position with respect to the can being opened, and illustrating the transition from the condition of the can and cover of FIG. 10 to the condition shown in FIG. 11.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4 thereof, there is shown a can opener 20 which comprises a support or body member 21 including an arm 22 having near one end thereof an oflset portion or platform 23 and at the other end thereof an apertured bracket 24 for facilitating mounting of the opener on a supporting wall or the like by means of a plurality of screws 25. A chuck 26, for rotatably supporting a can to be opened, is suitably journaled as by a shaft 26a in the offset portion or platform 23, and a bracket 27 in which a set of spaced rollers 28 and 29 are journaled is pivotally mounted on the support member 21 so as to enable limited relative motion between the rollers 28 and 29 and the chuck 26. The bracket 27 is mounted to pivot about a fixed pivot 32 mounted on sup-port 21. A locking lever 31 having a hand engaging portion 31a is pivotally mounted as indicated at 39 (FIG. 3) to the body or support member 21 at the end thereof remote from bracket 24 and islconnected' to the bracket 27 by means of a suitable linkage 33 so that the locking lever 31 controls the relative positions of the rollers 28 and 29 with respect to the chuck 26. As illustrated, the linkage 33 is connected at one end to bracket 27 by pivot pin 33a and at the other end to lever 31 by pivot pin 33b. As shown in FIG. 4, the rollers 28 and 29 are connected together by suitable gearing 34- so as to be rotatable in unison and in the same direction'by a crank 35 which is directly connected to the roller 28. As illustrated, the gearing 34- comprises gears 34a, 34b and 34c, the gears 34a and 34b being secured to the shafts 36 and 37, respectively, supporting the rollers 28 and 29, respectively, while the gear 34c is rotatable about a stationary shaft u? 38. The crank 35, having a hand engaging portion 35a, may be attached to either of the shafts 36 or 37, but is specifically illustrated as attached to the shaft 36.

The can opener 20 which is used to illustrate a number of aspects of the present invention is designed for manual operation. Nevertheless, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the shaft 36 and somethnes even the lever 31 may be operated by electric motors or the like. However, since the principle of op eration of the can opener is the same whether it is manfully or automatically operated, an understanding of the invention is facilitated by describing it in connection with a hand-operated device.

In order to facilitate an understanding of the functions of the various parts of the can opener 20 before considering the detailed configuration of these parts, a brief description of the over-all operation of the opener 20 may be helpful. It will be appreciated that in order to use the can opener 20 to remove the cover from a can, the locking lever 31 is pivoted into engagement with the arm 22 of the support member 21, as shown in FIG. 1, so that the rollers 28 and 29 and their shafts 36 and 37, respectively, are moved as a unit with bracket 27 a substantial distance away from the chuck 26. This position of the rollers 28 and 29 is shown in phantom in FIG. 3. A sealed can, generally designated at 41 (FIG. 2), to be opened, can then be placed with the cover thereof in engagement with the bottom of the chuck 26 so that part of the lip of the can is positioned between the bottom of the chuck and the upper edge of the roller 28. The locking lever 31 is then pivoted in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2, thereby moving the rollers 28 and 29 toward the bottom of the chuck 26 and thus clamping the lip of the can between the chuck 26 and the roller 28. The linkage 33, by virtue of the location of the pivot points 33a, 33b and 39, includes an over-center mechanism so that with the lever 31 in the position illustrated in FIG. 2 the rollers 28 and 29 cannot .move away from the chuck 26 as the result of any force exerted thereon due to variations in the size or strength of the can and are effectively locked in position. The crank 35 is then rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, to cause therollers 28 and 29 to rotate in the same direction as viewed in FIG. 1, and thereby progressively to release the-cover from the can as the top of the can rotates clockwise as viewed in FIG. 1. As the can rotates, successive portions of the lip thereof move into engagement with the rollers 28 and 29 to release the cover from the can. When the opening operation has been completed and the cover is free from the can, the locking lever 31 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction from the position of FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 1, thereby moving the rollers 28 and 29 away from the chuck 26 and thereby enabling removal of the cover from the can.

In FIGS. 9 to 12 of the drawings there are shown the successive steps involvedin the method of the present invention for removing the cover from a can. Conventionally, cans 41 in which food or the like is preserved comprise a cylindrical body portion to the ends of which are secured covers 42. Each cover is sealed to the can body by means of a lock seam generally indicated at 43 (FIG. 9) which comprises a U-shaped peripheral channel 44 on the edge of the can 41, and an interlocking portion 45 on the periphery of the cover 42 which fits around the U-shaped end 44 and is received in the channel thereof. A hermetically tight seal between the can 41 and the cover 42 is assured by means of a rubberlike sealing gasket 46 which fills the space between the can and cover within the seam 43 thereof. Also, an improved seal is provided because the center portion of the cover is depressed within the ends of the can 41 and portions of the cover abut against the inner wall of the can 41 throughout a substantial area near the ends thereof.

In order to remove the cover 42 from the can 41 in the manner described hereinbefore, the covered can is pressed against the bottom of the chuck 26 so that a depending cylindrical portion 47 on the chuck 26 extends into the central depressed portion of the cover 42 and engages the cover 42 along a circular line 48 which is approximately opposite the lower end of the seam 43. With the bottom edge of the chuck 26 thus engaging the inner wall of the cover 42, a shoulder 49 on the chuck 26 engages the uppermost part of the cover 42. By properly dimensioning the chuck 26 for a particular size of can, a relatively tight fit may be provided between the chuck 26 and the cover 42 along the circular line 48.

With the can thus mounted on the chuck 26, as the lever 31 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 1 to that shown in FIG. 2 thereby to move the roller 28 toward the chuck 26, the periphery 51 of the roller 28 is moved over the adjoining surface of the can 41 into the space between this can 41 and the adjacent surface of the curled-over end of the cover 42. As shown in FIG. 10, the active surface 51 of roller 28 is beveled so that thi movement of the roller 28 into the seam 43 forces the edge of the can 41 and the surrounding portion 45 of the cover upwardly away from the body of the can and against the shoulder 49 so that the outwardly extending portions of the can 41 and of the cover 42 lie in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the principal longitudinal axis of the can 41, as clearly indicated in FIG. 10 of the drawings. As yet, the cover 42 is not released from the can 41 although the seal between the cover 42 and the can 41 is broken when the lever 31 is operated to force the periphery 51 of the roller 28 into the seam.

When the crank 35 is now rotated, the roller 28, which constitutes a seam opening roller, rolls around the can 41 by virtue of a plurality of teeth 52 thereof (FIG. 7) which engage the folded-over portion 45 of the cover 42 and cause the can 41 and the chuck 46 to which it is attached to rotate. Accordingly, successive portions of the seam 43 are opened and pressed against the shoulder 49, as shown in FIG. 10, during rotation of the roller 28. The portions of the seam 43 which have been opened to the position shown in FIG. 10 by the roller 28 are next engaged by the roller 29 which constitutes a curling or seam releasing roller and which, as best shown in FZG. 11, is tilted at a slight angle so that the face thereof is substantially parallel with a conical surface 53 on the chuck 26. The surface 53 terminates at the bottom, at the shoulder 49. The roller 29 thus engages the foldedover portion 45 of the cover 42 thereby to press it upwardly and against the conical surface 53 of the chuck 26, curling the periphery of the cover back of the adjoining edge of the can. As shown in FIG. 11, once the roller 29 has traversed the entire periphery of the body of can 41, the cover 42 is free and may be removed from the can as shown in FIG. 12. Although in FIGS. 9 to 12 the U-shaped portion 44 of the can 41 is shown to be of sufficient length so that the edges of the can 41 extend beyond the periphery of the shoulder 49 so that the edge thereof is bent upwardly by the curling roller 29, since this dimension of the cans is not held very closely, the edge of some cans may not extend beyond the periphery of the shoulder 49. However, in either case, the folded-over portion 45 of the cover 42 is moved out of locking engagement with the can 41 by the action of the curling roller 29.

As best shown in FIG. 11, the face of the curling roller 29 is centrally recessed at 56 to provide a raised peripheral surface in which a plurality of grooves 57 (FIG. 8) are cut to provide a plurality of peripherally disposed teeth 58 which selectively engage the cover 42 thereby to assist in the rotation of the can 41 as the crank 35 is rotated.

Considering in greater detail the various parts of the can opener 20, and referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, the roller supporting bracket 27' is secured to a pair of arms 69 and 61 by means of a plurality of bolts 62, and the arms 60 and 61 extend upwardly above the bracket 27 on. opposite sides of the body arm 22 for pivotal connection thereto at the pivot point 32, As best shown in FIG. 3, the upper ends of the arms ($17 and 61 and the arm 22 are apertured and a pintle defining the pivot point 32 extends the'rethrough. Accordingly, the bracket 27 is pivotally attached to the body member 20.

The locking lever 31 is provided with a bifurcated end 66, the tines of which extend on opposite sides of a projection or ear 67 of the platform 23, and a pintle defining the pivot 39 extends through suitable apertures in the tines 66 and in the ear 67 thereby pivotally to secure the lever 31 to the body member 2 1. The linkage 33 comprises a pair of linkage arms 71 and 72 which are disposed on opposite sides of the lever 31 and pivotally attached thereto by pivot means 330 and 33b. As shown best in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pivot means 33b is disposed in close proximity to the pintle defining the pivot 39 to provide a'suitable lever arm to facilitate coupling of a force from the lever 31 to the bracket 27 via the linkage 33.

The bracket'27 is somewhat concave-convex in cross section (FIG. 4) and, as best shown in FIG. of the drawings, includes an aperture 89 in the center portion thereof through which an enlarged shank 36a on the shaft 3-5 secured to the roller 28 extends. A suitable needle bearing assembly 82 is interposed between the shank 36a and the bore st} to provide a bearing journal in which the shaft 36 of roller 28 is rotated. As best shown in FIG. 6, a similar bore 83 is provided in the bracket 27 in spaced apart relationship from the bore 85, and an enlarged shank 37a on the shaft 37 secured to the roller 29 extends therethrough. Also, a needle bearing assem bly is interposed between the shank 37a and the bore $3 to provide a suitable journal for the shaft 357 of the roller 29. i

The shaft 36 of roller 28 fits into the bore 87 of bevel gear 3dr: and the latter is secured to shaft 36 by means of a suitable set screw 9% and the crank 35 is in turn secured to the end of the gear 34a by means of a plurality of screws 91 which extend through suitable apertures 92 in the crank 35 and are threaded into tapped holes in a shanklike extension of the gear'34a. Obviously, any other means of uniting the handle 35, the gear 34a, the shaft 36 and the roller 28 may be employed.

In a similar manner, the gear 34b is secured to the shaft 27 by a set screw 9h. 7

The gear Me is effectively an idler gear loosely mounted on a bolt or stationary shaft 38. A washer 103 may be interposed between the gear34c and the head of the bolt or shaft 38' to provide a bearing surface which engages the adjoining surface of the idler gear 340.

in accordance with the present invention and as best shown in FIG. 4, the axis of rotation of the roller 28 intersects the axis of rotation of the chuck 26. However, as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 13, the axis of rotation of the curling roller 29 is displaced from the axis of rotation of the chuck 26 so that only the leading edge of the roller 29 engages the folded-over pontion of the cover 42 of can 41. Accordingly, there is no drag exerted on the can 41 by portions other than the leading edge of the roller 29 engaging it and, moreover, inasmuch as the trailing edge of the roller 29 does not engage the portion of the cover 42' which is folded against the conical sur face 53 of the chuck 26, it cannot engage this folded-back portion of the cover and move it away from the surface 53 so that it might again interlock with the edge of the can 4'1. In a device built in accordance with the present invention, the axis of rotation of the roller 29 was displaced by 4- from the position it would occupy had it intersected the axis of rotation of the chuck 26. In this device [the conical surface 53 had an angular-ity of 4 and was, furthermore, parallel with the face of roller 29.

In order rotatably to mount the chuck 26 in the platform 23, the latter is provided with a bore (FIG. 5

and the shaft 260, which has a depending pontion 112 threadedly received in a tapped hole 113 in the chuck 26, extends therethrough. A needle bearing assembly 114- is interposed between the shaft 26a and the wall of the bore 110, and a resilient snap ring 115 is positioned in an annular groove 116 in the shaft 26a to prevent excessive axial movement of the chuck 26. Because of the relatively high force which is exerted upwardly on the chuck 26 during the opening of a can, a thrust bearing 117 is interposed between the end of the shaft 26a and the platform 23.

Considered in greater detail and referring panticularly to FIGS. 3 and 5, the thrust bearing 117 comprises a U- shaped body member 118 which is secured at its ends by suitable means such as bolts to the platform 23. The upper end of the shaft 26w extends toward the high-t of the body member 118. The shaft 26a is prow'ded at its upper end with a recess 12!). A steel ball 121 having a diameter slightly less than that of the recess is positioned in said recess, and a ball retaining collar 122 having a circular opening 123 in the top thereof is threaded over the upper end of the shaft 26a.

The center portion of the U -shaped member 118- is provided with a threaded aperture 126., and a machine screw 127 having a concave lower end 128 is threaded therein so that the concave surface 128 engages the top of the ball 121. As best shown in FIG. 5, the radius of curvature of the recess 128 is substantially the same as the radius of the ball 121 so that a good thrust bearing is provided between the ball 121 and the screw 127. Moreover, the set screw 127 enables adjustment of the relative positions of the shoulder 49 and the roller 28 thereby to enable effi cient operation of the can opener 20. While a particular type of thrust bearing 117 has been shown, it will be understood that any other suitable type ofthrust bearing may be used to restrain the upward movement of the chuck 26 While permitting the relatively free rotation thereof in response to rotation of the crank 35.

In view of the detailed description included above, the operation of the can opener of the present invention will readily be understood and no further discussion is included herewith.

While the present invention has been described with respect to a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood, of course, that it is not desired that the inention be limited thereto, since changes and modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A can opener for a can having a cover joined to a can body by a lock seam forming a channel between the can body and lock steam and comprising a frame including a support means for rotatably supporting a can to be opened, a first roller having a beveled periphery for spreading out said seam away from the body of the can, means pivoted to said frame for moving said roller into said channel in engagement with the lock seam joining the cover with the body of said can, means for rotating said roller while in engagement with said can and cover to cause said can and cover to rotate whereby said first roller effectively rolls around said seam to spread out said seam, a second roller for engaging said seam immediately after it has been spread out by said first roller for uncurling the edge of said cover back of the adjoining edge of the body of the can to release it completely from said can without cutting either said cover or said can, and driving means for simultaneously rotating both of said rollers in the same direction.

2. A can opener as set forth in claim 1 above wherein said frame additionally includes a fixed portion and means for adjusting said support means relative to said fixed portion of said frame are provided.

3. A can opener as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first roller includes a plurality of teeth displaced from said periphery and engageable with said seam after it is partially folded back.

4. Apparatus for removing the covers from cans of the type having .a lock seam :for securing the cover to the can, said lock seam comprising an outwardly directed U-shaped channel on the edge of the can and an interlocking portion on the periphery of the cover which fits around the edge of the can and enters the channel thereof, said apparatus comprising a body member, a chuck journaled in said body, said chuck having means thereon .for engaging the cover of a can, a support bracket pivotally mounted on said body member along an axis substantially parallel to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said chuck, a seam opening roller journaled in said bracket, said roller having a beveled flange positionable in said channel between the side of said can and the portion of said cover which is disposed in said channel for opening the channel and bending the lock seam horizontally away from the can, a curling roller journaled in said bracket adjacent to said seam opening roller, said curling roller being positioned to engage said cover beyond the end of said can after said seam has been opened and bent horizontally by said seam opening roller for bending the periphery of said seam upwardly and to bend the edge of said cover toward the center of said can.

5. A can opener comprising a body, a rotatable support member mounted in said body, a bracket pivoted on said body, seam opening roller means journaled in said bracket and movable by said bracket into a predetermined position with respect to said support, and adjustable means interposed between said body and said support for adjusting the distance between said support and said roller means when said bracket is in said predetermined position.

6. A can opener as set forth in claim 5 wherein a thrust bearing is connected between said support member and said body, and said adjustable means constitutes a portion of said thrust bearing.

7. A seam opening roller for opening a can of the type including a body portion and a cover and comprising a generally cylindrical member having a beveled externally directed annular flange at one end adapted to be moved between a lock seam formed by the cover and can and the body of the can, and a plurality of cover engaging teeth on the surface of said member remote from said ca flange adapted to engage the underside of the foldedover portion of said cover.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said chuck comprises a generally cylindrical member having at one end thereof a depending cylindrical portion of reduced diameter for reception in a depressed cen'tral portion of said cover, said depending portion terminating in a radial shoulder which engages the uppermost part of said cover throughout an annular area, and said chuck further comprises a generally conical cover engaging portion disposed above and adjacent to said shoulder against which said curling roller forces said seam of said cover.

9. The can opener of claim 1 wherein the axis of rotation of the rollers are fixed relative to one another and said first roller is disposed on a radius of said can and the axis of said second roller is disposed slightly askew from a radius of said can.

10. The can opener of claim 1 wherein said rollers are mounted on a part of said support means, which part is movable relative to another part thereof, and wherein said rollers are bodily movable as a unit with said one part toward and away from a can to be opened.

11. A chuck for use in a can opener, comprising a generally cylindrical member supported at one end and having at the other end thereof a depending cylindrical portion of reduced diameter terminating at its upper end in a shoulder adapted to fit in a depressed central portion of a can cover and a generally conical cover engaging portion adjoining said shoulder and disposed immediately above said shoulder, the diameter of said conical portion decreasing in an upward direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 859,838 Powers July 9, 1907 1,289,645 Burpee Dec. 31, 1918 1,319,395 Huddleston Oct. 21, 1919 1,974,671 Egan Sept. 25, 1934 2,028,202 Gauthier Jan. 21, 1936 2,119,135 Link May 31, 1938 2,196,182 Arnesen Apr. 9, 1940 2,311,660 Hothersall Feb. 23, 1943 2,334,407 Grebe Nov. 16, 1943 2,466,123 Osplack Apr. 5, 1949 2,479,200 Birks Aug. 16, 1949 2,845,887 Kradoska Aug. 5, 1958 2,852,836 McNicol Sept. 23, 1958 

